Compassionate Intentions

In this new year of 2018, I feel myself opening to new possibilities. I feel this opening in a new and different way than in any year past. Thanks to a daily inspirational book that my friend, Trudy, gave me, I feel called to look deeper into my heart. The author Sarah Ban Breathnach creates this invitation in her book “Simple Abundance—A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.”
 
For this new year, what longings lie dormant in your heart?

In years past, I feel like I kind of stumbled through what my heart wanted to create. Even though I feel how I gave my heart space, I did not sit down to write specifics. I can feel how my heart certainly has longings and yet they seem to remain a mystery to me. Also, I can easily be swept up in the daily grind of home and work and lose sight of what lies deeper within myself.
 
The German poet Ranier Maria Rilke says “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves,”…”Do not now seek the answers which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything. Live the questions now…”
 
I love the first line above, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.” I feel myself take in a deep breath, and release tension from my body on the exhale. I don’t have to put pressure on myself because I’ve missed or looked over my heart’s longings. Patience is an important key. And the other aspect I love about the quote above is “to love the questions themselves…Live the questions now.” This speaks directly to my soul, for my mind doesn’t understand this but a deeper part of me says, “yes!” In this way, the question becomes very open-ended. I can feel my creativity and excitement soar. I can feel and understand in a deeper way how each moment is living into the question of my heart’s longings. Each action, task, moment of stillness, rest, etc. is a way for me to live and love the question.
 
For this new year, what longings lie dormant in your heart? 
 
Allow this question to live inside you and see what unfolds. I’d be interested to hear from you, so please feel free to comment below or email me privately if you wish. As you allow the question to live inside you and you hear/see/feel what comes into your awareness, write it down. Give yourself as much time and space as you need. For me, what I immediately need is to create space for the unknown. I simply write down the word ‘unknown’, and then that gives space for what else is arising within me. Allow it to be a free-style writing or journaling time where there is no need to figure out or understand the words or images that are coming and expressing themselves. Simply let it flow. As you feel the flow subside, wait to see if there’s another wave. After one or several waves, if you feel complete in the moment, then look back over your words or images. Are there any themes? The themes that emerged from my free flow writing session are Creativity and Authenticity.
 
Following your initial dive into the question, take your themes and re-write them so that they become your new year Compassionate Intentions! For example based on my two themes above,
 
“In 2018, I intend to live in a way that creates space for more of my Creativity and Authenticity to flow.”
 
Holding this intention with the same depth and light-heartedness as the original question, and allowing your self to live into the question and to love the question of your heart’s longings, we have now created a 2018 new year Compassionate Intention. And so from here the adventure of 2018 begins!
 
 
 Written by Janet Wepner
(to explore this deeper and in a women's group, contact me about my new year's women's workshops.)